#MySafetyResolution: A Challenge from WSIB Chair Elizabeth Witmer
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s we approach the New Year, I’d like to encourage and challenge you to make a New Year’s health and safety resolution. For instance, you could resolve to recognize your employees or co-workers for working safely. Or resolve to always wear safety equipment. I encourage you to ask yourself: “What will I do in 2016 to make my workplace a safer and healthier environment?” Once you decide (here’s a list of sample resolutions from both an individual and organizational perspective) tweet your resolution to us @WSIB with the hashtag #MySafetyResolution. Any resolution is one step towards a solution. With that said, I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and a safe New Year!
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Government of Ontario Nominates New WSIB President
On December 10, the Government of Ontario announced the nomination of Thomas Teahen as the new President and CEO of the WSIB. The appointment will be effective in February 2016, pending approval by the Standing Committee on Government Agencies. Our current President and CEO, David Marshall, will begin a new role as Special Advisor to the Minister of Finance in February.
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Economic Statement 2015
On November 9 we released our 2015 Fall Economic Statement, and the news is good. We’re ahead of the legislated timeline to reach financial sustainability, which will result in lower premiums paid by employers who fund the system and long-term security for the workers who depend on it. We now expect to eliminate the unfunded liability, or ‘UFL’, by 2022 – five years ahead of the schedule required by law. Once the burden of the UFL is gone, employer premiums will consist only of new claims and administrative costs, making Ontario one of the lowest cost jurisdictions in Canada. It also means we will return over $2 billion annually to Ontario’s economy, and help Ontario employers become more competitive. To read the full report, click here.
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Online Services Webinars: Sign Up Today!
From January – March 2016, we’re hosting a series of free webinars on ePremium/eStatement, eClearance, eForm7 and an overview webinar of all of our online services for newly registered employers. These learning opportunities will help you determine how online services can work for your business. Click here to see the list of webinar offerings. If you’re interested in attending one, send an email to online_services@wsib.on.ca with your First & Last Name, Company Name, Webinar Name & Date, email address and quote the code “EM09”.
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WSIB Staff Raise over $250K for the United Way!
Did you know that a $100 donation to the United Way provides a daily snack to 30 children for three weeks? With impact like that, it’s easy to understand why our employees have raised $3.5 million for the United Way over the past 25 years. Adding to that grand total is the $250,000 that our employees across the province have raised in 2015. This year, we’ve been nominated for a United Way Spirit Award and we’re honoured that we can support people in the same communities that we serve every day at work. To learn more about how the United Way makes a positive impact in your community, click here.
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Call For Proposals: New Grants Program
We’ve introduced a new Grants Program and are inviting leading experts to submit proposals aligned to our priority areas of Return-to-Work and Recovery. The deadline for submitting an initial proposal is March 4, 2016. We will announce the recipients next fall, and all of the information about recipients and awards will be publicly available on our website. For more info, click here.
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Update: Rate Framework Modernization
On December 1, about 160 stakeholders, along with our Chair Elizabeth Witmer and President David Marshall, attended a session that we held in Toronto to provide an update on our proposed Rate Framework. We highlighted an updated framework that incorporates suggestions and recommendations made by stakeholders in the working group sessions and the formal submissions, as well as our own analysis. If you couldn’t attend the event, you can access the presentation here. For more information regarding the updated Rate Framework, please contact us at consultation_secretariat@wsib.on.ca.
he Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.To injured workers, we’re the agency that provides wage-loss benefits, health care coverage, and return to work and transition programs. To employers, we’re the agency that provides no-fault collective liability insurance and access to industry-specific health and safety information. But to our employees, we’re simply the agency that believes in getting injured workers across Ontario back to what matters.